Shefali Christopher, assistant professor of physical therapy education, worked with the athletes at the World Parathriathlon Championship in Iseo, Italy.
By Tyler Seibring ‘19
Shefali Christopher followed her dream this summer by working with some of the best athletes in the world as the physical therapist for the USA paratriathlon team at the World Paratriathlon Championship in Iseo, Italy.
Having previously worked with the U.S. team at the World University Games for several years, Christopher, an assistant professor in Elon’s Doctor of Physical Therapy Education program, was ready to embrace a new challenge. As a member of the American Physical Therapy Association, Christopher is a part of the Physically Challenged Athlete special interest group, so when the USA paratriathlon team decided to take a physical therapist on staff, she jumped on the opportunity.
“This was one of my goals when I was coming out of school 10 years ago,” Christopher said. “I said, ‘I want to work with an Olympic level team with physically challenged athletes.’”
The team brought different physical therapists to each event and Christopher was selected to assist the world-class athletes for the Franciacorta ITU World Paratriathlon Series held June 29 through July 1.
Christopher was immediately put to the test when she arrived in Italy. To prepare, Christopher had met with her peers to discuss the injuries that were common for the paratriathletes.
“There was no room to mess up because we were two or three days before racing,” Christopher said. “Usually with athletes, I know their bodies because I’ve been seeing them for a while and know what they need on their race day. But for these athletes, I had just met them, and I had to use my best judgement as to how aggressive to be with treatment.”
Christopher maintained a very busy schedule. The only time that athletes weren’t able to see her was during team meetings and course familiarizations when the athletes fine tuned their approach to each section of the three-part race.
“Some nights I would treat athletes until I went to bed at midnight,” Christopher said. “Then I was up and ready to treat first thing in the morning.”
The event provided invaluable experience for Christopher, who had to constantly remain alert and ready for different potential injuries. “It was a good and unique challenge for me,” Christopher said. “I needed to dig deep in my brain to figure out what’s the best treatment to give this athlete who is dealing with different impairments than my Elon athletes.”
International experience also provides Christopher with tools to bring back to Elon to teach her students. She learned lessons from specific injuries she encountered, and she plans to remind students of the importance of being prepared for a new opportunity.
“Always stay sharp with your clinical skills because you never know when you are going to be put in a situation to work with athletes that you may not be working with on a regular basis,” Christopher said.
As a professor in higher education, Christopher understands the importance of not only passing down her knowledge but also providing as a guide for her students’ aspirations. She hopes to help all of her students find their passion and discover the avenues to achieve their goals.
“One of the things to being a good mentor is to help students dream big and find the steps they need to make it a reality,” Christopher said. “I had a goal 10 years ago to work with a paratriathlon group and here we are.”